Unit 1: Period 1: 1491-1607 - AP United States History

1.1 Context: European Encounters in the Americas

• Christopher Columbus Arrival

  • Arrived in 1492, marking the beginning of the Contact Period.
  • Not the first European (Norse arrived in Canada ~1000).
  • Contact Period ends in 1607 with the first English settlement.

• Bering Land Bridge

  • Connected Eurasia and North America.
  • First inhabitants of North and South America crossed it from Siberia to Alaska.
  • Sea levels rose, submerging the bridge and forming the Bering Strait.

• Native Americans in Pre-Columbian North America

  • Populated by Native Americans prior to European arrival.
  • Conflicts due to cultural misunderstandings with European settlers.
  • European settlers brought different religions and technologies.

1.2 Native American Societies Before European Contact

• Complex Societies
  • Hundreds of tribes and societies across North America.
  • Permanent settlements supported by maize cultivation.
• Nomadic Tribes
  • Lifestyles of hunting and gathering, especially in the Great Plains.

1.3 European Exploration in the Americas

• Columbus Sails 1492
  • Utilized caravels funded by Spanish crown.
  • Landed on San Salvador, meeting Taino people.
• Age of Exploration
  • Triggered further European exploration seeking gold, glory, and God.

1.4 Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, and Conquest

• The Columbian Exchange
  • Exchange of plants, animals, foods, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds.
• Colonization
  • Initiated European expansion and colonialism in the Americas.
• Spanish Colonial Power
  • Founded towns in Central, South America, and the West Indies.

1.5 Labor, Slavery, and Caste in the Spanish Colonial System

• Introduction of Slavery
  • Enslaved Africans used extensively by colonists.
• Expansion of Labor Needs
  • Demand for labor exceeded local supplies, leading to increased African slavery.
• The Slave Trade and Middle Passage
  • Brutal shipping routes bringing enslaved Africans to Americas.

1.6 Cultural Interactions Between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

• Spanish Colonial Power
  • Encomienda system for labor and conversion of natives.
• Competition for Global Dominance
  • European nations vying for exploration and colonization.
• Native American Resistance and Adaptation
  • Varied responses to European influence, including intermarriage and conversion.
• Enslavement and African Adaptation
  • Africans adapted cultural practices, mixing them with European influences.

The English Arrive

• English Colonization
  • Focus on agricultural areas; strained relations with Native Americans.
• Jamestown and Virginia Company
  • Founded 1607, funded by joint-stock companies.
  • Struggled initially but grew through tobacco cultivation.
• Development of Plantation Slavery
  • Driven by tobacco agriculture requiring extensive land and labor.

French Colonization of North America

• French Efforts
  • Colonized Quebec, engaged in fur trading.
  • Lesser impact on native populations compared to Spanish and English.

The Pilgrims and the Massachusetts Bay Company

• Puritan Movement
  • Religious persecution led to migration to New World.
• Establishment of Plymouth
  • Led by William Bradford, signed the Mayflower Compact.
• Great Puritan Migration
  • Massachusetts Bay developed along Puritan ideals.

Economic and Social Differences

• Chesapeake vs New England
  • Different settlement patterns, family structures, and economies.
• Religious Intolerance and Puritan Immigration
  • Influenced by political changes in England, varying motives for migration.